Cricket vs Grasshopper
Have you ever been confused between grasshoppers and crickets? They are insects that look very similar, and because of their legs and shape of bodies, it becomes hard to tell if it is a grasshopper or a cricket. Some kids and even adults get terrified if there is either in the room though these are usually harmless creatures for us humans. This article will highlight the features of grasshoppers and crickets, and the differences between them.
Crickets are famous for their chirping, and if you are sitting in your lawn in the evening during winters or rainy season, you might hear a deafening noise made by many crickets together. These are insects that come out only during the night and are thus called nocturnal insects. Because they have a body structure and hind legs that are similar to grasshoppers, many people confuse between them. It is their long hind legs that help crickets (and grasshoppers to) in jumping. Their bodies are long and flat, and they possess long antennae.
The sound made by crickets called chirping is referred to as stridulation by scientists. There is a myth that crickets chirp by rubbing their legs with one another. The fact is that only male crickets chirp, and the sound comes from a long vein beneath wings. There are serrations or teeth in these veins that make a sharp sound when cricket rubs them with his other wing. It is not without purpose that a cricket makes sounds. There are two specific sounds that are calling and mating sounds. Male cricket makes use of these sounds to attract female crickets and repel other males. There is a unique correlation between the frequency of chirping of a cricket and temperature of the environment. Using Dolbear’s Law it is possible to tell the temperature in Fahrenheit if frequency of chirping is known.
Grasshoppers belong to the order Orthopetera, which is also the order of Cricket . Those who confuse them with crickets call them short horned grasshopper. The reason is that their antennae are short when compared with their bodies. They have teeth called pinchers or mandibles that they use to nibble at food, mostly leaves.
In the order Orthopetera, there are suborders Caelifera and Ensifera. Grasshoppers and locusts are called Caeliferans while crickets and katydids belong to Ensifera.
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What is the difference between Cricket and Grasshopper? • Crickets have long antennae while grasshoppers have short ones. • Crickets make sounds with the help of organs on their forelegs, while these organs are on the abdomen of the grasshoppers. • Crickets make sound by rubbing wings together, while grasshoppers do so by rubbing hind leg with forewings. • Grasshoppers can be seen in both day and nights, while crickets come out only at nights. • The feeding habits of grasshoppers differ from that of crickets. While grasshoppers are herbivorous, crickets are predatory in nature and are both omnivorous as well as herbivorous. • Grasshoppers are mostly green to blend into grass or vegetation though there are many bright colored varieties of grasshoppers in the world. • Crickets are mostly dark colored (black or brown) to blend into the night or vegetation. • Crickets have ears in legs, whereas grasshoppers have ears in their abdomen. • Grasshoppers can fly, also jump higher. Crickets’ wings are mostly absent, and they do not fly. |